


I Need to Talk to You

by curseofgrima



Series: Frederick and Morgan [3]
Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: Family, Father-Son Relationship, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-27
Updated: 2016-06-27
Packaged: 2018-07-18 15:37:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,496
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7320937
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/curseofgrima/pseuds/curseofgrima
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Morgan asks his father for advice about new feelings he has for a close friend. Frederick replies with how he and Robin's relationship slowly changed from distrust, to friendship, to love over time.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I Need to Talk to You

“Father,” Morgan weakly called for attention, nervously pushing his fingers against each other, “uhm…there’s something I wanted to talk to you about…”

Frederick sat down the lance he was cleaning and looked at his son with curiosity. Morgan’s face was abnormally flushed, and he had an unusual expression replacing his sunny disposition. Could he be sick? Alarmed, Frederick stood and put his hand against his son’s forehead. “You do not seem to be running a fever, but your skin is practically crimson. Whatever is the matter?”

Shifting between both feet, Morgan sighed. “I, uh, wanted to ask you if you know what’s wrong with me, actually…”

“Go on,” Frederick urged him from his sudden silence.

“You see…there’s someone who whenever I am around them, I feel…weird,” he gestured into the air around his head oddly, “…like, I feel breathless and lightheaded and my chest feels tight and my mind goes completely blank sometimes, but I don’t know why, and—”

“Now, just a moment, Morgan,” Frederick had to interject because his son was rapidly running out of breath as he stumbled through his speech, “when specifically do all of these odd reactions happen to you?”

Morgan rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. “Well, a lot lately, but it didn’t used to be like this. Before, we were just really good friends, but now whenever they smile at me or give me a compliment I can’t help but feel…strange. It’s unexplainable, truly. What’s wrong with me, Father? Am I ill?”

A deep rumble of laughter spread through Frederick’s chest at his son’s words. A youthful expression replaced his strict gaze. “I understand your predicament all too well. I myself experienced the same inner conflict…back when I had first fallen for your mother.”

“When you what? Y-you mean I’m in love?!” Morgan exclaimed, smacking a hand against his forehead in surprise. What a revelation! “Are you sure? They are so—but I’m just like—no way…” He rubbed his face with exasperation before looking up at his father’s knowing expression.

Frederick placed a hand on Morgan’s arm and smiled at how much he had grown. “I was in the same position as yourself at the time…only I did not realize what my feelings truly were until later. Even then, I had to ask several others on what they thought about the unusual warmth in my chest, just as you are now. Fortunately, you have someone to tell you exactly what it is.”

The entire experience was making Morgan’s head spin, but his curiosity won out over his distress. “How exactly did you figure out how you felt? Towards Mother? If you didn’t realize it at first and no one else really knew either.” He watched as his father brought a hand to his chin and mulled over the question with utmost seriousness.

“There were many signs I should have noticed, really, but before then I had only ever been focused on my duty to my lord and my kingdom. The more I felt odd pangs in my chest, the more I uncovered my own feelings, and I began to have odd thoughts…thinking of how lovely your mother’s hair was, or how wonderful it would be if I could just hold her hand in mine…” He shook himself from his musings with a slight blush dusting his cheeks. “Well, I suppose above all, your mother made me selfish for the first time in practically my entire life.”

“Selfish? But isn’t love supposed to be a selfless emotion?” Morgan asked with such complete innocence Frederick could not help but ruffle his hair.

“Normally, yes. Both platonic and romantic love can bring out the most beautiful form of selflessness in the face of tragedy and danger, but just as there are two sides to the moon and two sides of a coin, absolute selfishness can breed absolute selfishness. In its most dangerous form, jealousy can destroy nations.”  
“Woah…” Morgan wondered how anything so pure could lead to such destruction. The way his father had just described his mother, could it really turn to such a dark emotion just as easily? “Tell me more about how you felt, please?”

With a soft chuckle, Frederick sat down and patted the seat next to him for Morgan to sit. When he did, he turned to his son and sighed with a hum. “When I first met your mother…I distrusted her. A stranger asleep in a field with no memory but my lord’s name, dressed in the robes of our then enemy in war, how could I trust such a person? Perhaps she was a spy, I thought, and did my utmost to keep her far from Lord Chrom and Lady Lissa, but even Exalt Emmeryn accepted her into our ranks. So, in the beginning, I regrettably had quite the sharp tongue with her, which led to many small disputes. I was especially harsh on her during training…

“But she was a brilliant tactician—still is to this day, although no longer having to be on the battlefield. Her ability to learn was marvelous, and that potential! I was astounded, though I kept this locked deep inside at first. How could I let this suspicious person worm their way into my good graces? My lord and lady may have trusted her, but it was my duty to be their skeptical side for their own sakes.” This time he sighed with a twinge of regret. “I believed I was doing the right thing—what was expected of me as a knight, as a vassal.”

“What changed?” Morgan asked, his eyes fixed on his father’s tired expression.

“She saved lives, time and time again. She never once complained during training, never attempted to hurt anyone. She would rush into any danger just to save a Shepherd she barely knew. The amount of courage, gumption, and wit she used and captivated others with…I was just as lost to her as anyone else sooner or later. Only, I did not come to terms with it because I did not wish to…by then, I thought I must have been cemented in her mind as a hateful man who distrusted and loathed her being anywhere near myself or my lord. How could I win her heart?”

“How did you?”

Frederick straightened his back, staring down at his hands resting on his knees. He cleared his throat. “Odd as it was, we were always together. I suppose our earlier arguments led to us learning more about each other than we thought.” He chuckled, “She helped me through my distaste of bear meat. I am positive you do not know that I proposed to her during our last bear dinner session? She thought I was completely unromantic, and I understood later after Lady Lissa told me why that was so, but Robin later promised me she did not care. Before then we had been paired up during almost every battle. Our dual support was fantastic, we were a splendid pair on and off the battlefield. The strategic meetings we had with Lord Chrom were some of my favorite moments—getting to see how that fascinating mind she had—still has—worked.

“Little moments like those are what brought me closer and closer to both her, and my own realization of what I truly wanted our relationship to progress into. She told me one day after a particularly harsh battle where I had guarded her from a life-or-death injury that she could not bear losing me, even if it was her own life she had to give in return. At that moment, I felt as if I was walking on air. I must have lost my heart to her long before, but that was only one of the many battles where I surrendered to her.”

Captivated by the variety of expressions passing across his father’s face as he spoke, Morgan smiled happily to himself. It was such a rare moment when his father was anything other than calm and collected. He found the flash of memories being shared with only himself to be very precious. “Thank you for telling me this, Father. I bet you never even told Mother any of this, have you?”

“I—” Frederick began, but was cut off by the sound of someone entering the room.

“You mean his ‘fascinating, courageous, marvelous’ wife?” Robin had a sly grin on her face as she leaned against the door frame. “Unfortunately, no, he hasn’t.”

Frederick ran a hand down his face with a deep sigh. “Oh, gods…”

“Oh! Perfect! How did you find out you were in love with Father, Mother?” Morgan bounced excitably in his seat, his eyes sparkling. Robin walked over to him and ran a hand through his hair.

“Let’s leave that for another time…” She winked at her husband, and he gave her a gruff look in return in order to hide his embarrassment. “I might need a while.”


End file.
